German Archives - Lighting the Way, Historic Women of the SouthCoast

Gladys Heuberger Sherman Ellis

Mattapoisett basket maker Gladys Heuberger Sherman Ellis (1916-2011) designed and created the Mattapoisett Basket, a unique regional form of the Nantucket Basket. An accomplished scrimshaw artist and Nantucket basket maker, she also taught this artistry to many others.

Eliza Bierstadt

Active in the local 19th-century art community of William Street, New Bedford’s “Gallery Row,” Eliza Bierstadt (1833-1896) was likely America’s first female art dealer.